Govt gets it all wrong in closing down train lines

Govt gets it all wrong in closing down train lines

Should I, or should I not, take the train today?" might be the question du jour for city commuters right now. Apart from checking if a train is running or delayed, commuters find it helps to remain flexible in case authorities suddenly order the train services to temporarily shut. Such has been the response to the pro-democracy rallies that have erupted daily since the Oct 15 crackdown, when riot police used water cannon to disperse crowds.

The blanket and partial closure orders for train lines, which the MRT and BTS complied with from Friday to Monday, created chaos.

Some netizens posted interesting questions, such as how and why train operators could be so obedient to the state without thinking twice about the plight of thousands of commuters. Such obedience would be helpful if it meant more friendly priced fares for the public.

But as we all know, the operators are able to maintain their high fares, and ignore calls for fair ticketing, as the authorities have no guts. The latest episode -- the closure order -- makes us realise that the authorities couldn't care less about the mobility of the city's residents. To make it worse, the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) joined the bandwagon in the areas surrounding the rally sites.

I, like so many, was speechless on seeing pictures of crowded train stations and stranded commuters on pavements amid heavy downpours as they struggled to get back home after a long day at work.

This is not the first time the government has meddled in the city's train services (acting like it was a major shareholder). During the Bangkok Shutdown by the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), which was seeking to oust the Pheu Thai-led government in 2014, media reports said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) ordered the BTS to increase train frequency, easing travel for commuters.

Commuters getting home was not even a consideration for the Thai authorities, as their sole focus was on aborting the rallies.

A friend in Germany told me such a halt to a public service would not happen, especially during permitted protests. Service suspensions can really only happen during a strike by the union or transit system employees. Actually, in the event of protests or even big football matches, more trains and buses are added to facilitate transport. Not providing public transport is considered a deprivation of human rights in Germany.

Samart Ratchapolsitte, a deputy Democrat Party leader and former deputy Bangkok governor, said in a social media post that the temporary closure of public transport from Friday to Monday caused a loss of about 22.7 million baht in income for operators. With such a substantial amount of money, even if the government does decide to compensate them for the losses, the public and all parties concerned are still owed an explanation as to why the decision was deemed appropriate. What about day pass ticket holders -- should they claim compensation from the government for their abrupt decision?

The government, which likes to control everything, successfully shut down all the city's train services and some bus routes. Yet, the tech-savvy kids still outsmarted the authorities, who never fail to resort to archaic and extreme measures. The knee-jerk reaction to immediately halt the train services in order to disrupt the protests actually ended up disrupting the whole city's mobility.

Since Saturday, I've been wondering: What if the meeting points moved from train stations to somewhere like a convenience store closer to home? Would the government still have ordered the closure of train stations?

Their blunder reflects the necessity for them to think things through. At least in the case of a rally plan being made public, like with what the pro-democracy groups are doing, governments should still ensure commuters know they can map out their trips home.

Yet as we know, the government and authorities lack the ability to pay heed to public demands, and are unable to react in an appropriate and timely way. This is one of the reasons most demonstrators are taking their grievances against the government to the streets. Authorities should not abort or crack down on those rallies, in the manner that most provincial governors do when they want to impress the central government by showing the area under their jurisdiction is problem-free. Rallies are a democratic way of making the demands of a diverse society known.

Sirinya Wattanasukchai

Columnist

Sirinya Wattanasukchai is a columnist for the Bangkok Post.

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